Author Topic: 401k funds outside those offered at work. We have high ER target funds.  (Read 2793 times)

finitelement

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Currently I'm investing in retirement fund through fidelity thats a T.Rowe Retirement 2050 fund with a 0.75% ER.  I know its really high.  I asked about investing in a fund that was not offered, like a Vanguard retirement fund, and save on the ER.  Attached is a document which fidelity sent explaining the extra fees and commission schedule.  Anyone have experience doing something like this? I want to do what makes the most sense.  I've only been investing a few years, but the ER can really make a difference.  My company pays for an advisor at a financial company that sends us monthly updates with their picked funds we should be investing in (that are offered).  I went with the index retirement fund like many of my co workers did. 
My understanding is, I can pay a fee every few years to switch what I have in the T.Rowe fund to a vanguard retirement fund.  Has anyone been in a position where their companies funds arent great? What should I do?
Thanks for the help!

NoStacheOhio

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Re: 401k funds outside those offered at work. We have high ER target funds.
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2015, 08:02:24 AM »
I did Brokerage Link for a while (looks similar), and ended up moving everything back to my standard 403b because we have good index choices. Fidelity has a lot of low cost, no transaction fee funds you could choose, particularly FSTVX, which is their VTSAX equivalent. I don't know about your particular case, but with mine, I could direct a portion (or all) of my contributions and matching into the brokerage account the same as if I were choosing a fund. The money gets deposited to the core position, and you can either set up automatic investments, or do it manually. Obviously, YMMV, but with my account, there were no additional fees for using the BrokerageLink option.

finitelement

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Re: 401k funds outside those offered at work. We have high ER target funds.
« Reply #2 on: December 15, 2015, 06:53:08 AM »
Thanks for the reply.  I'm just confused I never herd of brokeragelink accounts and there must be a reason why fidelity index fund you are referring to isnt offered.  I just wish the retirement fund was similar to Vanguards when dealing with ER's

NoStacheOhio

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Re: 401k funds outside those offered at work. We have high ER target funds.
« Reply #3 on: December 15, 2015, 09:31:01 AM »
Thanks for the reply.  I'm just confused I never herd of brokeragelink accounts and there must be a reason why fidelity index fund you are referring to isnt offered.  I just wish the retirement fund was similar to Vanguards when dealing with ER's

The Brokerage account is basically the same as your regular 401k, but allows you to choose almost anything. If you choose to open the brokerage account, you'll no longer be locked in to your company's choices, and can buy FSTVX (or even VTSAX, if you want to pay for the trades).

seattlecyclone

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Re: 401k funds outside those offered at work. We have high ER target funds.
« Reply #4 on: December 15, 2015, 11:41:02 AM »
It looks like you can buy Fidelity mutual funds and iShares ETFs with no transaction fees through that account. Fidelity's Spartan series has some good funds that you may want to check out. They're very comparable to Vanguard funds.

I know some 401(k) plans charge a flat annual fee to participate in the brokerage window, in addition to any trading charges that may apply. Is that the case with your plan? If so, consider what the effective expense ratio of that fee would be. For example a $50 annual fee on a $20,000 balance is equivalent to adding 0.25% to the expense ratio of whatever funds you might hold in that brokerage account.

finitelement

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Re: 401k funds outside those offered at work. We have high ER target funds.
« Reply #5 on: December 15, 2015, 12:26:50 PM »
HR says the company was thinking about paying the $15 a month for this service, however the employees that were thinking about doing it backed out.  So apparently they were going to cover this fee. 

GGNoob

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Re: 401k funds outside those offered at work. We have high ER target funds.
« Reply #6 on: December 15, 2015, 02:18:00 PM »
I set up the brokerage account for my 401k and 457. They are both at TD Ameritrade and I invest in the commission free ETFs. I pay $50 a year to do this, but its much cheaper than paying for the funds offered in my account.

You can do the same with your account at Fidelity...either Fidelity Spartan Index funds or the commission free iShares ETFs.

 

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